Bill Gates reveals 'sensitive information' Jeffrey Epstein tried to use as leverage
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates says that Jeffrey Epstein tried to use 'sensitive information' about his personal life as leverage against him.
Testifying to Congress and the House Oversight Committee today (10 June), Gates told politicians that Epstein learned he'd been 'unfaithful in my marriage' and tried using that to restore their connection.
Gates had an association with Epstein, saying they'd been introduced in 2011 through his charity work and being told by others that Epstein could raise money for his foundation.
He said that at the time they met he remembered 'being aware that Epstein had faced prior legal issues', but 'did not fully understand the extent of the crimes he committed'.
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In 2008 Epstein pleaded guilty in Florida to state charges in Florida of procuring a minor for prostitution and soliciting a prostitute and became a registered sex offender, Gates said he'd been introduced to Epstein 'without applying the scrutiny I should have'.
Gates testified that he and Epstein met five times between 2011 and 2012, and that for a couple of years afterwards 'more extensive conversations' between them occurred, but by December 2014 he decided Epstein 'would never deliver on his promises' and their interactions ended.
The Microsoft co-founder said that around this time 'Epstein had become aware of sensitive information about my personal life', including him cheating on his wife Melinda, and claims that Epstein had used that to try and re-establish their contact.
Melinda divorced him in 2021.
He said: "These affairs had nothing to do with my interactions with Epstein, but they were painful for my family.
"As the public can now see, based on what has been released in the files, Epstein was working to use information about my infidelities—in addition to many lies that he layered on top—to pressure me to re-engage with him.
"He was unsuccessful in this effort, but it shows some of the ways he tried to leverage his interactions with me to further his agenda.
"I should never have met with Epstein in the first place."
Gates recently admitted he'd had affairs with Russian women after a release of the Epstein files contained allegations that the Microsoft co-founder had caught a sexually transmitted disease, Gates denies this detail.
His spokesperson said: "These claims - from a proven, disgruntled liar - are absolutely absurd and completely false.
"The only thing these documents demonstrate is Epstein's frustration that he did not have an ongoing relationship with Gates and the lengths he would go to entrap and defame."
He said the affairs he did have, 'one with a Russian bridge player who met me at bridge events, and one with a Russian nuclear physicist who I met through business activities', did not involve Epstein's victims.
Speaking to the House Oversight Committee today, Gates again reiterated that he had never witnessed Epstein's crimes or participated, and did not visit his personal island.
He said: "I never witnessed nor had any indication that Epstein was engaged in ongoing criminal conduct. I never went to his island, his ranch, or his Florida home.
"I have never victimized anyone. While he may have sought to foster a personal relationship, I was never interested in that and never reciprocated."
Topics: Bill Gates, Jeffrey Epstein
Joe Harker